Editing History of Islam (section)

===East African coast===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 105-DOA0232, Deutsch-Ostafrika, Arabische Moschee.jpg|thumb|150px|The [[Great Mosque of Kilwa]]]]

Islam came to the [[Swahili coast]] and South Eastern Africa along existing trade routes.<ref>Nicolini, B., & Watson, P.-J. (2004). Makran, Oman, and Zanzibar: Three-terminal cultural corridor in the western Indian Ocean, 1799–1856. Leiden: Brill. p. 35</ref> They learned from them the manners of the Muslims and this led to their conversion by the Muslim Arabs.

Local Islamic governments centered in [[Islam in Tanzania|Tanzania]] (then [[Zanzibar]]). The people of ''[[Zayd]]'' were Muslims that immigrated to the region. In the pre-colonial period, the structure of Islamic authority here was held up through the ''[[Ulema]]'' (''wanawyuonis'', in [[Swahili language]]). These leaders had some degree of authority over most of the Muslims in South East Africa before territorial boundaries were established. The chief [[Qadi]] there was recognized for having the final religious authority.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nimtz|first=August H. Jr.|title=Islam and Politics in East Aftrica. the Sufi Order in Tanzania|year=1980|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|location=Minneapolis}}</ref>